Happy Halloween!

These past couple of days have found me in Santa's Workshop actually making Christmas Accordion Tags, however I stumbled upon some witch's brew and concocted this:
I believe that one cannot have enough Halloween decorations, especially if you have children around. (Like my inner one.) So I had a lot of fun decorating this with all the spooky critters and creepers which allowed me to participate in the superfun challenge at the Cupcake Craft Challenges "Things That Go Bump in the Night!"
Love it!

This was based on Sharon Johnson's Splitcoast posting: and her Instructions. Happy Halloween and Merry Christmas have the same number of letters (midnight ruminations) so it works perfectly. After fiddling with the different papers for the ghost space between words I ended up making my own "dp" although I REALLY wanted the Twilight paper from Pink Paislee Twilight collection, just couldn't find it in town. I used Elegant Eggplant and Basic Black ink with the Negative Embossing technique to create this panel, hopefully evoking a spooky background. The circles are punched out of the Shimmery White, I sponged the edges (because plain just didn't look full enough) and I added Stickles dots (because I LOVE STICKLES!).

Paper: SU!: Elegant Eggplant, YoYo Yellow, Basic Black, Shimmery White
DP: Tim Coffey Halloween "I Want Candy" (green), Best Creation Inc. #GP320 (white swirly), Reminisce Halloween Collection "Jack" (pumpkins, black & orange polka dot)
Ink: SU!: Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black, Elegant Eggplant, Green Galore
Accessories: Recollections (Michael's stickers: spiders (so cute!), cats, ghosts, & bats) ? Pumpkin stickers, Making Memories "Spellbound" chipboard alphabet stickers, Ranger Stickles: orange, purple & green; Cuttlebug & D'vine Swirl embossing folder, circle & slit, tag corner punches, misc. Halloweenish ribbon, sponges, Fiskars scoring tool
Technique: Negative Embossing

Confessions of a (4 Year Old Mom, I mean Mom of a Four Year Old, oh dear... I am I rambling? What was I saying?

My dh says I am not the same person I was before I had kids. Ain't that the truth. I don't look the same, when we got married I was a size 4 and on a good day these days I am a size 12, not that size matters, unless it is your boobs or your butt or the nether regions in between. My ankles are the same, however my feet are not and I grieve the loss of my Cole Haan shoes, you know the ones I bought when I had a paying job. I don't talk the same - I never used to ask anyone, "Are you poopy?" And yes, I frequently bust out with some motherese to smooth a moment. But Holy Crapola do I mourn my memory or complete lack thereof. I don't remember jack spit... I don't even remember to write it down because I still believe that I can remember stuff, I have forgotten that I don't. Or is it do? I don't remember. I hate having conversations with people because I can't recall names very well and heavens it is like English is a foreign language because I almost never get through a sentence because I pause to find the right word. You know the one on the tip of your tongue.
I lost my purse the other day. I can't hardly miss it visually because I hang my keys from it and they are big and loud with all the keys on there. I nearly went on a rampage tearing my house apart looking for it, meanwhile my kids just sort of ignore like my dh does until I start muttering about how I can't find my purse. My daughter calls me a silly goose because


I AM WEARING IT. IT IS STRAPPED OVER MY BODY AND HANGING DOWN MY BACK. Makes you think twice about how much junk you got in your trunk.

I lost 15 minutes of my life looking for something hanging around my neck. Seriously. Am I nuts or what? How do I cure this? I know it is sleep related, I don't need some fancy shmancy researcher to tell me that; I sleep completely different now. I can hear if there is a change in my kids' breathing down the hallway. Someone farts and I am up. I hear the little one roll over and I am awake so that I can be there when he falls out of bed again. Ever vigilant. Sometimes I am up giving medicine and reapplying lotion for my little guy with food/environmental allergies and DH will never know that I have been up for half the night. There was an earthquake and it didn't even phase my dh, snoozing next to me in Lala Land. Must be nice. jerk
My life changed completely and his is still the same. I just don't get that.
I still can't find the kids' National Parks passports - I put them somewhere safe, so I didn't forget them when we went on our trip... in July. I have all these stamps to put in them. The kicker will be that when I finally do find the passports I won't remember where I put the stamps and stuff to put in them, I know it! Last night I had prints made at Costco to send to my parents & to give to MIL for her birthday. I picked them up this afternoon. Can I find them? NO! I have searched the house & my car to no avail. What could I have done with them? I have a vague notion of seeing the envelop after I tossed in the front seat, you know, so they would be out of harm's way. I remember this because my daughter wanted to look at them. We went to the grocery store, home and then the library. I might have carried it in the house, but probably put the envelop down without even giving it a second thought. I have no idea. Called the store and no one turned them in there. I have lost other things too. Like my wedding ring? Yeah, that was fun. I put it down in the same place every time so it is easy to find, except this time it was different. I tore everything apart, even the sink and went through all the garbage twice. I was frantic and had to confess to my dh about it and starting asking about the insurance policy on it. He decided to look for it, and came back with it 2 minutes later. I kept checking the wrong cupboard - you know the one where I DON'T put it. He looks at me like I have lost it. {sigh}

Yeah, I have.
So I will return to the website and reorder 2 more so I can fall asleep knowing that I have solved one portion of my problem. I just have to remember to pick them up tomorrow after work and not lose them. How hard can that be?

Pink Camoflage and a Forest Friend

My daughter has a pair of pink & brown camoflage pants that I just covet, but instead of using my desire for misdoings I used it for inspiration. The brown color scheme is this week's Stamp Something Challenge. I made the pattern by tearing paper in the same direction all the way around with rounded edges, kind of oak leafy. The sketch is from Laura's #36 at 2 Sketches 4 You. I think this will make a sweet girl's birthday card.

All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted:

Stamps: Forest Friends (2009), Friendship Blooms

Paper: Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Kraft, Pretty in Pink, Pink Pirouette, Bella Rose DP

Ink: Close to Cocoa, Pretty in Pink

Ribbon: Chocolate Chip grosgrain, Making Memories Kids Trim "Kate" bric-a-brac

Accessories: Scallop Edge punch, Nesties & CB, Ranger Stickles "Cotton Candy", Creamy Caramel marker, pop & glue dots

Hubby's Birthday!

Happy Birthday Honey!

I find it hard to make masculine cards sometimes and honestly it is hardest to make one for my dh. So I cheat by making it from the kids' perspective and All in the Family accomplishes that! The card sketch is from Mojo Monday #106. This week Technique Challenge (TLC 240) was foil embossing which I used on the arrow. I used chipboard and with a little extra muscle on the old CB, it works just fine! Also if you think that you will somehow save yourself a hassle by peeling off the adhesive backing so that you aren't messing with the foiled impression then you are sadly mistaken. Use the adhesive backing to attach the foil and then a glue dot to attach it to your work. {ahem} Up near the top of recent challenges was negative embossing (TLC160) and I used that on the red heart. I REALLY liked that effect so I will be using it again. All the deets are at Splitcoast!

Challenge within a Challenge Day!

Boy, it has been a long time since I posted anything. I go in spurts... following my fancy... and it feels like I am back into stamping which is good for my soul. Getting together with one of my best friends who shares a stamping passion got me into doing challenges. I think I have combined the most ever for me into this project. And boy does it remind me when Tim Gunn comes into the workroom and put his hand under his chin when he declares "this could be beautiful or a hot gooey mess."
Here goes:
I used this week's challenge from Get Sketchy #7 and their Bonus Challenge Distressing. I distressed the Basic Grey DP: Infuse "Saturate" and the "thank you" circle from the Stampin' Up! All Holiday Set with the Stampin' Up distressing tool. I sponged all the paper as well to soften everything. Using Basic Grey paper (Infuse) and Chipboard Elements allowed me to participate in their challenge for Week 4: Embossing. I stamped the farm image from Harvest Home with Timber Brown StazOn and then used a combination of colored pencils and crayons to color the image and then blended them with a blender pen. I then did the Cracked Glass technique on the focal image which involved heat embossing with Ranger's UT Clear Embossing Powder. I stepped outside of my box in the Ways to Use it (SCS challenge WT237) with the use of Chipboard. I love the way people use it - I think it adds so much to a card... I have just been afraid to use it, worried it will look like an afterthought rather than integral and thus wasting it for a better card, a better idea. I decided not to overthink it. Lastly, I'm throwing this into the Limited Supplies Challenge (LSC239) for the SOS, mine being So Saffron, Old Olive and Saturate.

Stampin' Up! Stamps: Harvest Home, All Holiday, Canvas, Timeworn Trim

Paper: Stampin' Up! So Saffron, Old Olive, Whisper White, Close to Cocoa, Watercolor paper

Designer Paper: Basic Grey Infuse "Saturate" and "Invest"

Ink: Old Olive, More Mustard, So Saffron, Chocolate Chip, StazOn Timber Brown, VersaMark

Chipboard Elements: Basic Grey (corner pieces) and Marcella K (scrolly thing)

Accessories: SU! Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon, WC pencils & crayons, Ranger UT Clear Embossing Powder, sponges, exacto knife & cutting mat, distressing tool, pop & glue dots

A New Superpower!

The morphing into motherhood from naive single gal (now I have two hearts that roam outside my body) obviously began during pregnancy. How else does one give birth to something bigger than a loaf of bread and weighs just under a gallon of milk? Then there is the ability of leap tall piles of laundry in a single bound, faster than a runaway shopping cart, to rescue your kid from scaling the kitchen cupboards - yes, I gave birth to Spidey Baby - he'll be friggin' awesome on the climbing walls. Add to that the two lives you live (the Clark Kent - Superman syndrome) where you are Wife and Mother. Maintain the world for everyone in the family (can't you just hear the little mice from Cinderella singing Cinderellie Cinderellie...). Also you must be able to help them find everything. My stepson has called me from the house, where he is... to ask me if I have seen his car keys - you know the ones he used to drive himself to an empty home with. And yes I have found them for him. I amaze my self. No need to thank me.... ...... ...... Still waiting to actually say that to him.
My latest superpower is evolving quickly. I have learned to become Invisible. The other day I woke up earlier than everyone else and I snuck stealthily into the kitchen to make myself a cup of coffee that would actually stay warm throughout the entire sippage. I might have even rested my super self instead of tackling my nemesis May Tag. I got the teapot boiling and a cup ready while listening to the local news on TV. I was just waiting for the light to turn green on my espresso machine when my partner in grime stumbled into the kitchen.
He ground his beans and got his pot ready (french press) and used all the water in the tea kettle.

Then he walked away and changed the channel to his current love Hannity.

It was if I wasn't even there!

I looked down at myself - I could still see myself in my rumpled pj's and slippered feet but apparently he could not. I must be Invisible.

This power is occurring in my kids' vicinity as well. Sometimes I feel like I am talking to myself!

I tried to use it last night after my kid barfed up pickles and apple juice all over himself and the kitchen floor but to no avail.

I have yet to master timing for it but when I do....

Something Worth Blogging About!

It has been a while since I got online to write anything. I have been busy, even too busy to stamp. {sob} I took a part time job to earn some cash in these hard times and boy does a job crimp my stamping time. Also, I have been working on getting my little kids their own bedroom. But first I had to convert it from a teenager pit with a penchant for duck tape. Goof-off gets that sticky stuff off the wall, just in case you ever needed to know. Even after I pleaded with her to leave her room as neat as I had been able to get it before she came home from abroad there was still a week's worth of cleaning in there before I could even start to make it a place for my little ones. Well, the paint is on, the bunk bed has been bought and the carpet cleaners are coming tomorrow. The carpet cleaners have forced me to rid my bedroom of all clutter, which is fine because I don't actually like the clutter, it's just that I have never been very good at managing it.
After all is said and done I think I deserve a cupcake and something warm to drink. Have you seen the new release from Elzybells Art Stamps ? OMG these are so stinkin' cute and yummy I have to bite my finger. Powered by caffeine, you know I love anything coffee. She has this cute set called Cool Beans which has a bunch of steaming cups of coffee and charming sayings. I always want to send out cards to friends asking them to coffee. Then there is this other larger set called Tea for Two which has mugs, and steams and whipping and marshmallows and more wonderful little sayings, some for your love and others for friends and even one appropriate for a gift. I would love to have that set to make little thinking of you treats to send out with birthday cards. Then there is a set with Elzybells wonderful character/caricature surrounded by all things yummy and desserty called Just Desserts. This little girl reminds me of my daughter with her curly hair and smiling face. Easter is coming and she is featuring an Easter Egg set called Eggstravaganza with great variety of patterns and decorations for making the perfect Easter basket card or place card for your Sunday feast.
There is still more! I don't know about you but I AM all things cupcake. My daughter will be having her 4th birthday next month and I am throwing a cupcake theme birthday party for her. It will be her first one with friends. We'll play a version of "Pin the Tail on the Donkey" with candles on the cupcakes, along with a couple of other games and decorate cupcakes for her "cake." I even bought cute little cupcake lip glosses as party favors. So how cute would the set Hey Cupcake be for invitations and thank yous? Sprinkles! Frosting piles! Cherries! "Topped with love and sweet wishes." Isn't that the most adorable edible saying ever? There are some other single stamps with funny sayings on them as well, my favorite being: "I can resist anything but TEMPATION!"
All this chatting about yummy things has made me hungry!